Enabling Discovery through GEnomics | 21 546

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 546

Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) is a joint research grant program run by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its core purpose is to push comparative and functional genomics forward, with a strong emphasis on moving beyond listing genes and toward explaining how genomes actually produce observable traits. In practical terms, EDGE is aimed at uncovering causal mechanisms that connect genes and phenotypes, so that researchers can better explain, and eventually predict, how genetic variation translates into biological function and complex characteristics across different organisms.

The opportunity supports two closely related types of work. First, it funds the creation of new tools, technologies, resources, and infrastructure that make genomics research more powerful and more scalable. That can include experimental platforms, computational or statistical methods, shared datasets or reference resources, and other innovations that enable the community to identify cause-and-effect links between genetic elements and phenotypic outcomes. Second, it supports functional genomics studies that directly probe the mechanistic basis of complex traits, especially when those traits depend on context. EDGE explicitly calls out that context can be environmental, developmental, social, and/or genomic, reflecting the reality that many phenotypes are shaped by interactions among genes, regulatory elements, and conditions rather than by single genes acting alone.

A central theme in the program is genomes-to-phenomes understanding: discovering the "rules" that govern how genetic information and regulation produce traits. This aligns with NSF's broader research direction under its "Understanding the Rules of Life: Predicting Phenotype" initiative (one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas), which focuses on building predictive, mechanistic models of phenotype. At the same time, the program also supports priorities associated with the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), particularly the goal of clarifying what genes and regulatory elements do and how they relate to pathways, networks, and phenotypes. While the program is not limited to human biology, the emphasis on gene and regulatory element function and on network-level relationships is directly relevant to that broader NIH mission.

From an administrative standpoint, EDGE is a discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 21-546) in the science and technology research and development category. The listed award ceiling is $2,000,000, and the agencies expected to make around 15 awards under this solicitation. The original closing date for submissions was March 16, 2021, and the opportunity was created on December 17, 2020. Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional clarification provided in the official eligibility text, signaling that prospective applicants need to consult the solicitation details to confirm which organizations or applicant types qualify. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 47.074 and 93.172, reflecting NSF and NIH involvement in the funding framework.

Overall, EDGE is designed for projects that either build the next generation of functional genomics capabilities or use functional genomics to explain complex traits mechanistically, ideally in ways that generalize across organisms and conditions. The program is most aligned with proposals that can show how their work will improve causal inference between genotype and phenotype, strengthen predictive understanding of traits, and contribute durable tools or knowledge that other researchers can build on.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enabling Discovery through GEnomics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.074, 93.172.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 16, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 21 546

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